Coop's Scoop

Hard Mac

2009-08-17T11:30:00.003-05:00

Today I am watching my niece Aubrianna. She and Ashlyn were playing and ready for lunch. Aubrianna asked what we were having. I gave her a few options, one of them was Easy Mac. She said she wanted Easy Mac and that she would go and ask Ashlyn what she wanted. A few minutes later, Ashlyn came running down the stairs yelling, "mommy, mommy......I want hard mac". It took me a second to realize what she meant. She said, "I like the kind of macaroni that takes longer......it tastes better". So, what is the point of Easy Mac if my kids don't even like it? It's a good thing I got it on clearance (there must have been a reason for that).

Kids First Day of School

2009-08-15T10:56:00.006-05:00

You've got to give Jeff some credit for this. He was posting these pics and captions on facebook and I asked him if he would post them to our blog also. We got the pics but no captions. Hopefully he will come back to this and edit. The kids have separate first day of school pics because there days started on different days. Alexis and Max started on Thursday and Ashlyn on Friday. Ashlyn was so excited for her first day of Kindergarten!

Pay it Forward

2009-08-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

We had the most unexpected thing happen to us last week. We had some friends take us to dinner at a nice Italian Restaurant. At the end of our meal a lady from the other table asked us if we watched the morning news. Okay........... I wont go into her story (it was pretty long and confusing). Long story short, she and her husband picked up the tab for all four of us. She then took off a bracelet she was wearing on her wrist and gave it to me. It says "Pay it Forward". Seriously the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for us! I am still wearing it looking for my opportunity to PAY IT FORWARD!

Max's blog post

2009-07-19T17:56:00.009-05:00

Max was asking me if he could make his own blog. I told him we have a family one. He wants to post something. Here he goes....

Max

win I was in Las Vegas I wint to a lake. It was so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so fun.

I wint to SAND D AGO frist I wint to SE WROLD I got to pet som steng ras. Aftr I wint to the wild anmle cendom I sall a lots of anmlse and got to slepd ther it was fun

THE END.

Max on the piano...

2009-07-03T00:19:00.001-05:00

Baby Steps.............

2009-06-20T15:32:00.002-05:00

I thought if I waited long enough Jeff might just surprise me and post something. I thought maybe for our 11th anniversary (Feb 13) or just maybe for my birthday (March 2) or possibly Alexis's birthday (March 21), Ashlyn's birthday (April 12) or Reese's birthday (May 27). NOPE. The idea of posting for me started to get overwhelming when I thought of how long it has been and how much I need to post to catch up. It is always downloading the pics and getting them on that is hard for me. I thought I would just start with a funny story, no pictures (though I wish I would have taken one of this) and easy to post.

A couple of days ago Ashlyn asked me to come in her room and help her pick something out to wear. This is not unusual for her. She will typically have 2 or 3 outfits laid out (always with one in mind that she really wants to wear). It's almost like a test to see if I can guess right most of the times. So, recently when she did this she had 4 outfits but each had an accessory. One had a bracelet, another had a hair thing, the third a necklace and the last had.........Dracula teeth. She had picked the Dracula teeth to go with a soccer jersey (something she thought I wouldn't want her to wear). How could I resist picking that one? The thought of her wearing the teeth around as an accessory made me laugh. When I told her that was my choice she cringed and said, "no, that's not a choice anymore" and put it away. It doesn't sound very funny now but, it is such an Ashlyn thing to do. I figured if I was going to use this as my journal I need to be better at posting the cute stories about my kids.

More to be posted soon......................

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

2009-01-11T00:00:00.009-06:00

Today is Jeff's birthday and he is turning 34! Seriously can you believe it? I remember when we first met at Ricks. We were sitting near each other in a broadcasting class. He was sitting maybe two seats ahead and one row over. I saw my friend talking to him and then started quizzing her about him. Who is that? How do you know him? Is he an RM? I know, random question. I was a sophomore in college....you know how that goes. I felt I was too old to date a freshman boy and knew I wanted to marry a returned missionary (not that I wanted to get married, it was the LAST thing I wanted to do that year) so why even be interested in a guy who hadn't. Anyways, I remember thinking she was wrong when she told me he had served a mission. Jeff could have passed for a kid in high school. We met that night at a dance where he had to pull out his drivers licence to prove he was 22. Blew me away.....and swept me away at the same time. Here are my Jeff favorites (please feel free to add on):

1. He is the best dad! He loves to spend time and play with the kids and they love the attention. Still a kid at heart (this is why I feel like I have 5 kids sometimes).

2. He makes me laugh. Even when I'm mad or frustrated and the last thing I want to do is get un-mad (I don't think that's a word) he can almost always turn my mood around. He is just so witty (not always in a good way).

3. He is a hard worker. No matter if it's at Sprint or at home he works hard.

4. He is so darn cute! I still can't believe how lucky I am to have such a handsome husband.

5. He's going to hate me for saying this but, he is such a spiritual giant. I am constantly in awe how he makes anything having to do with church a priority. Whether it's his personal scripture study, prayer, or in his callings. He definitely makes me want to be a better person in that way.

6. I love that he loves sports. Yes, you read that right.

7. He is frugal (most of the time). Example: He is still driving our first car - a 1997 Nissan Altima that is just at 200,000 miles. I also love this because he can put up with my deal hunts and has learned to appreciate them (I think).

8. He has such a tender heart. He is always willing to put whatever he is doing aside to help others when needed.

9. I love our late night dates. Several times a week after we put the kids into bed we watch our recorded programs together. Yes, it means more tv but, it has been a nice way to get alone time together. I don't think that he even minds that I fall asleep almost 10 minutes into watching them either!

10. Jeff's a great dancer. No kidding. That is one thing I remember liking about him that first night we met.

11. Last but not least -Jeff's a great husband!! Obviously... read 1-9.

I don't get a chance to brag on Jeff much so, I thought I would take the chance while I could. To wrap this up I will close with the words to this song that Jeff has made a tradition in our family. He and his family sang it growing up. Wish you could hear the melody. It is a song his family learned at Aspen Grove I believe.

Happy birthday happy, happy birthday. This is your day so have a lot of fun, boom, boom, boom. We're all waiting for the celebration, for the celebration to begin so, blow out the candles on your cake and make a wish, wooh! serve everyone your favorite dish, favorite dish. Boom, boom, boom. Happy birthday happy, happy birthday this is your day so happy birthday to you!

Ashlyn's Outfit of the Day!

2008-12-24T13:39:00.004-06:00

Becky and I are starting a new segment on our blog, "Ashlyn's Outfit of the Day!" I don't know where she comes up with some of her outfits. They're crazy! She reminds me of Punky Brewster. Today she came down wearing this.

She's wearing ballet shoes with shin guards!!! Man, I couldn't help but laugh. Ashlyn is one of the strangest kids I know, but I love her, and I'm so glad she's in our family.

Las Vegas Thanksgiving

2008-12-09T14:51:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful break going to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Jeff and I spent a couple day getting dental work done (thanks to bro-in-law Bryson). We did however, find time to do several fun things. Grandma and Grandpa Cooper took our family to this place called Magical Forest. The kids had fun on the carousal, train rides, slide rides and sitting on Santa's lap.

We visited the Natural History museum with the cousins and Grandma. Reese couldn't stop growling that day, tyring to sound like the dinosaurs.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. What can be better than good company and good food?

It is nearly impossible to get 13 kids smiling and looking in the same direction. That's what we try to do every year for Grandma and Grandpa Coopers Christmas card. The best part about this picture is our baby Jesus. It was a singing Christmas Tree we put there in place of baby Ruthie to try and capture the kids attention.

It's Autumn time...

2008-11-17T21:30:00.000-06:00

I started on this post a couple of weeks ago and didn't get too far. I know I just need to get

something up. Fall has been busy for us. Max had his birthday party. It was Halloween themed and the kids had a ball. We had a crazy full house. About 15 boys came. The boys had such a good time. Their favorite game was the mummy wrap. The kids loved playing and throwing the t.p. around once the game was over.

Our annual pumpkin patch outing. The kids love picking their pumpkins right off the vine. The patch also has a hay maze, farm animals and a hay ride.

I caught my kids one day out front raking leaves. They said they were trying to make a leaf pile to play in like Grandma and Grandpa Rowe's. Look at the small pile they were able to rake from our two small trees. I had to laugh when I saw Max raking leaves in the tree. It reminded me of a blond joke my brother Spencer once told me.

How did the blond get hurt raking leaves?.....She fell out of the tree. NO offense to blonde's (I've been one before) just a funny joke.

I was in charge of making fall centerpieces for our teachers dinner at Parent teacher conferences. I had seen this idea before but didn't know how it would turn out. I put an assortment of mums inside a carved pumpkin. I was pleased with the final product.

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...playoff action

2008-11-11T16:57:00.002-06:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...it's playoff time

2008-11-07T13:42:00.001-06:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

MaxPreps.com HS football video

2008-11-03T11:46:00.001-06:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

Tooth Fairy Crush

2008-10-30T21:36:00.008-05:00

Okay, so Lexi lost a tooth yesterday. She put her tooth under her pillow with a note. I was a little worried that Ms. tooth fairy would forget because she often does. So when I woke up this morning to wake up Lexi for school my stomach dropped when I saw her look under her pillow. She got a smile on her face and took out her note that she had written. I guess Mr. tooth fairy did not forget to leave money. To my surpise he left a note in response to hers. Here is how the notes went:

Alexis: Dear Tooth Fairy, this is a tooth I drew

(this is written inside of a tooth she drew, LOL)

I hope you like the tooth. Love, Alexis

Above this she wrote: One more thing I hope I get a dollar.

P.S. It doesn't really matter if I get a dollar.

Mr Tooth Fairy: Thank you for the tooth! It's a nice looking tooth.

Good luck with the rest of your teeth. Love, Tooth Fairy.

P.S. Enjoy the dollar. You have beautiful teeth!

When I read it I couldn't help but laugh at both of them. I love my little Lexi and I think I am developing a crush on Mr. Tooth Fairy. Don't tell Jeff......

Week 9 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com

2008-10-28T09:44:00.002-05:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-96135115-8591-4db4-b175-e99d1f327e34

Week 8 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-10-18T17:32:00.001-05:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-fa243d26-9bf8-4a96-9ea0-e8d774998892

Week 7 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-10-13T09:14:00.001-05:00

I covered two games this week. It was a wild and fun weekend!

Rockhurst, MO vs Minnetonka, MN
http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-2117c591-0e03-4021-a545-02098cf8771d

St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Blue Valley
http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-35228cb3-32a1-44c3-9765-ef338c4a6425

I'm Jeff Cooper.....

2008-10-09T23:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm not Jeff Cooper but, that is what I am hearing right now over and over again. I wanted to update our blog tonight but, Jeff is editing his latest Football video on the Mac where my pics are. I'm not letting that stop me. I have his laptop. Eveytime I go to blog, something distracts me or I come up with an excuse why I am too busy.

I am trying to keep Jeff company tonight since he has two nights in a row he has to cover football this week. This football thing has been a great opportunity for him. It's what he has always wanted to do! He is loving it. It has been a sacrifice of our time but, hopefully it pays off. Anyways a quick "Jeff" story.

Ashlyn was getting out of our car this week and I asked her to get Reeses drink that was on the floor of our car. I could see it behind her foot. She pretended she couldn't see it. She's like "I don't know what your talking about". I was holding Reese, she was crying and I just wanted to get inside. I got impatient with Ashlyn and she was like, "Sorry mommy, I was just trying to be a jokester like daddy". Funny that she actually said that because, Jeff and I have noticed that she does take after him. She has such a comedic personality. I didn't realize she was actually TRYING to be like Jeff (this could get scary)!!

Week 6 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com and shamless promotion of my kids...

2008-10-04T23:16:00.003-05:00

OK, I show a lot of Lexi Lou, Mad Max, Ash and Reesie in this video. I sort of feel bad, but not really. I love my kids.

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

Week 5 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-09-27T19:20:00.001-05:00

Look, I really want to post something, but I'm exhausted. My wife wants more money, so I have to work several jobs!

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-2c04f0b5-6b80-4eca-8769-bbf6dc2b020d

Week 4 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-09-21T16:58:00.001-05:00

OK, here's week 4 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-6967bb60-37c0-4ac0-9eb5-436454b4877e

Catching up on laundry....again

2008-09-19T14:41:00.007-05:00

So, I guess Jeff is using this as his new forum to post his sport videos. Don't you think it should be a requirement that he writes an entry each time? I do. Take our poll and let me know what you think.

Well, the kids have started school. I missed out on first day of school pics because things were so hectic but, I managed picture day pics (that works right?).

I did get Ashlyns first day of preschool picture with her teacher Mrs (Ms) Dutcher.

It has been kind of nice to just have Ashlyn and Reese during the days. I like the time we get to spend together. In a way it has made things a little more difficult because, Ashlyn thinks she never has anyone to play with. She is used to having Lexi and Max around to play with. She has decided to make do with Reese and is teaching her how to play and do all kinds of things.

Funny story about an outing I had with Ashlyn. We were at Walgreens sitting in a chair, waiting for a prescription. Ashlyn nudges me and says loudly, "Mom look at that old guy". I respond, "Shhh, that's rude to say out loud". Ashlyn then says, "You should go talk to him". I was like, "why?". She responds, "because he might be rich". I busted up and had no idea where she got that from. I know she has no clue about Anna Nicole Smith and I promise I did not mary Jeff for his money! Later, I told Jeff the story and we asked Ashlyn why she cared if he was Rich. She explained that she was wondering because, she wondered if we should buy food to give to him. I was relieved to know that she has a tender heart and not a gold digging mind!

Reese has been up to the same antics as always. Climbing into anything and everything........

eating anything and everything.....

.......and WALKING (pic to come)! Finally, 15mos and counting. Beginning to think it wouldn't happen!

One of the most exciting things happened last week! We got a grocery store that is down the street. So exciting in fact, we made opening day a family affair. The night included free water, cookies, a loaf of bread and meeting the Chiefs mascot! I know, pretty lame that we were that excited about it. Fun, fun, fun !!

Week 3 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-09-16T14:32:00.003-05:00

OK, here's week 3 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-fb95f2ac-e10f-4eb9-ad4c-9123866cb57d

Week 2 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

2008-09-08T12:10:00.002-05:00

OK, here's week 2 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-341f0332-b6fc-46e9-941e-8a55aa3d4250

For MaxPreps.com...I'm Jeff Cooper. Jiffy Boy covers his first football game!

2008-08-31T15:53:00.004-05:00

Well, here it is... my first sports package in 7 years. It's pretty bad. I promise it will get better. For those of you who don't know, I'm covering High School football this year for MaxPreps.com. MaxPreps.com is an online resource for HS sports. So, here it is... "At the Game" presented by Burger King.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-74c65722-a930-45c1-a6fa-adafc32e7f8c

The girls also wanted me to post this video of them dancing. They definitely have that Vegas blood in them...

MISS.ISS.IPP.I

2008-08-21T12:52:00.016-05:00

We had our annual Biloxi Mississippi trip with the Cooper Family. It is always such a relaxing trip. We fly in to New Orleans and then drive down to Biloxi. It is a full day of traveling but the kids did fairly well considering. We had the best entertainment flying into New Orleans. Check this out, our own Elvis impersonator who doubles as a flight attendant. He actually does the Elvis thing in Vegas.

The kids were so excited when they got into what we thought was a shuttle to drive down to Biloxi. It was a decked out limo bus with a bathroom and everything. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Our first day we went boating to a little lake area where the kids loved playing and taking turns tubing. As you can see Reese loved chillin' in her vest (and no, that is not me behind Reese, sorry Jeff).

Had fun the next day swimming at the pool and going to the spa. We then got the kids ready for their big UNLV picture. As you can see, it is hard to get a good pic with 13 tired and hungry kids. Here is the best one that I captured:

Ashlyn can't get enough of Justin, Annie and now baby Ruthie.

The next day was a fun filled day at the New Orleans Zoo and Aquarium. The Zoo was really cute.

We had the best dinners every night. There was so much food at every one! Jeff and I always woke up still feeling full the next morning. Here is the crew at dinner the last evening (some family members had to leave early so are not in the pic).

The highlight of the trip was pulling up in our ride to church. The faces of the missionaries and members who saw us pulling up in our casino shuttle is more than words can say. I think we all walked into church laughing. Talk about an oxymoron.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Cooper for a fun and memorable trip!

Blogging is like laundry........

2008-07-29T21:18:00.020-05:00

it piles up. I put both off until there is so much to do it takes me all day (laundry), or all night (blogging). So, what have we been up to this summer? I have a camera full of pictures. Once again, due to my procrastination, I will post pics and some captions. Here goes.....

Max played baseball this summer and loved it. Jeff enjoyed helping coach the team. Alexis was on the Lenexa swim team. She is a good little swimmer and got first place in backstroke at a couple of the meets.

We took a weekend getaway at our friends (the Klusmans) parents cabin. We got to play with the Klusmans, Bishops and Evans families. The kids had so much fun playing in the stream, petting and feeding the horses, making smores over the bonfire and catching fireflies.

4th of July!!! We kicked off the day going to the annual Lenexa 4th of July parade. Lexi was in it marching with the Lenexa swim team. The kids loved it because they got loads of candy. After, we were off to the annual Merriam 4th of July celebration where Grandpa Rowe was offering the opening prayer. Merriam and Shawnee had thousands of flags lining several streets. The flags with yellow ribbons were donated to vets. It is really neat to see. Following that we swam and BBQ'd at Grandma and Grandpa Rowes with the cousins. We went to Shawnee Mission Park that evening where the kids played and we watched the fireworks display. I love the 4th of July!!!

Deanna Rose Farmstead. We had fun hanging out with the Geddes's for a couple of weeks. The kids got to feed the animals, play in the school house and walk through Indian tepees. The best part about this awesome place is that it's free. You can't beat that!

We took the kids to Kaleidoscope. Another fabulous free activity for kids in Kansas City. It is owned and run through Hallmark. The kids get to make crafts and get to be creative. The thing the kids love the most about Kaleidoscope is they get to make a puzzle. They can draw a picture on a piece of cardboard and there is a machine that cuts it into puzzle pieces. Too Cool!

Lake Lenexa. We got a cool new park near us. It has a lake with a walking/biking trail around it. Here is the crazy sculpture that is under the damn. I think it looks like it could be a UFO landing but, very cool and abstract anyways. The kids had fun playing on the play equipment and skipping rocks.

We took the kids along with the Geddes's to a dairy farm. Jeff thought we had gone crazy wanting to drive an hour and a half to a smelly cow farm with the gas prices the way they are. Well, we all left thinking this was one of the highlights of our summer. We got to see how they get all the cows milked, make and bottle the milk and everything else you would want to know about how we get milk from a cow to the bottles on the shelf. The kids loved feeding and milking the cows. Well, at least trying to milk a cow. We got to taste strawberry, chocolate, orange and even root beer milk. The root beer milk tastes exactly like the root beer leftover after the ice cream melts from a root beer float. YUMMY!

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The girls got invited to go the new American Girl Doll movie with several girls in our ward. Good times!

We took the kids to High School Musical at Starlight Theatre. So fun to watch one of their favorite movies played out on stage. We were a ways back but, the binoculars were a life saver. We even got pictures with Zac Efron following the play!!

Just loved the first pic. One of our swim days with the Geddes's at the Chambers pool. The kids had fun swimming all day with friends. The second one is of the kids in the backyard. Geddes kids, Regan Evans, Derek and Peyton (cousins) and our kiddos. The kids set up a stage to perform music for us that night. The chairs are facing what the area they were performing on. They gave us all tickets and gave a marvelous performance with songs that they wrote and played the drums to.

24th of July. Seriously, how cute is this! My Grandma and Grandpa Rowe have made this cute tradition every summer. We get together with all of the cousins (there are 6 kids that live in town now, we are so lucky) and Grandma and Grandpa. We park at a church that is near a walking trail just down from a park. We walk to the park and enjoy a pioneer dinner. This year there was soup, biscuits and homemade doughnuts. My mom made cute bonnets for all of the girls and had hats for all of the boys. They even played games that pioneers played. The kids love it and look forward to this every summer!

Reese is doing so many cute things we had to post the pics of them. Reese has claimed her favorite spot in the kitchen. She loves to get in the lid drawer and throw them all out. Then she turns around and gets going on the next drawer up. So funny. She also loves to put things on her hands and crawl around. As you can see from the pics above she is getting creative at what she is using. We joke that she is getting as creative as she can crawling so she wont have to walk. She is also starting early on the piano. She wants to play just like Lexi and Max!

Happy Birthday Reese!

2008-06-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

Reese turned 1 on May 27th. Exciting and sad. She was sick and couldn't care less (like most babies first birthdays). Her first year breezed by. I wish I could slow it down sometimes. At the time of her birthday she still wasn't walking and did not have a tooth coming in. Finally, this week her first tooth is through the gum. Yeah!!

Reese enjoyed her jello cake, a perfect cake for a 12 month old

Fun facts/things about Reese:

1. She is one of the most laid back babies I have seen.
2. She loves to ham it up when people are watching her (hmm, I wonder who she gets that from?). She likes to make this funny face where she wrinkles her nose and squints her eyes.

3. She loves to play with her brother and sisters......even after they play doll with her (Reese being the doll). In the pic below, we were at Max's piano lessons. The teacher had this third car bench seat in the room. I looked over to where Ashlyn and Reese had been playing and Ashlyn had carried Reese and put her on the bench and buckled her in. At least she gave her toys to play with.

4. We love the fact that Reese has blue eyes. We never expected that with the rest of us being brown.
5. Reese always wants to get in the shower when someone is taking one. She will just sit on the floor and splash.
6. She love to be outside and if she can't, she loves to watch the other kids outside.

7. Grahm crackers are her favorite food.
8. Reese still loves her naps (just like her momma). When I put her down she turns to the side and puts her two fingers in her mouth (a comfort to her but, a habit that will be hard to break).
9. She gets so excited when Jeff walks in the door after work.
10. Reese has become more affectionate lately. Laying her head on me and patting my shoulder, etc. It has been fun since she has not been a cuddly baby.

This year will bring many more fun memories and milestones. We will try to absorb each day as they come.

Piano Recital

2008-05-20T00:56:00.005-05:00

Max had his first piano recital this week. We were getting nervous because sometimes at home he can be so lazy, rushing through songs, playing incorrectly. He had 3 songs to perform. 2 songs he learned from piano and the other is his arrangement "Fight and Steele". We were so proud of him. He probably played better than we have ever heard him. I will see if Jeff will post some of it on youtube. Lexi and Max are both really learning to become quite the pianists (sorry, I hate to brag).

Max and Ashlyn with Max's piano teacher

Turkey Creek Fesitval

2008-05-20T00:40:00.004-05:00

One of my fondest childhood memories is going to the Turkey Creek Festival. I remember either being in the parade that kicks off the festival or watching it every Spring. It has been fun to recreate the memories for our kids. Every year we go to the morning parade and then on the the festival. Usually a lot of the cousins and of course Grandma and Grandpa Rowe are there to hang out with. Grandma Rowe spoils us, bringing her yummy hoagie sandwiches and other goodies. The kids always have so much fun. There are blow up bouncy things all over, pony rides, train rides....you get the picture. Festival festivities.

Our good friends, The Larsens met up with us for the parade. The kids can't wait for the candy.

It was fun to see Grandpa Rowe in the parade as part of the City Council

Fun Memories!!

Deals

2008-05-20T00:27:00.004-05:00

So, I get so excited when garage sale season starts. There's nothing like finding a steal and the invigorating feeling that I get from it. I don't know what my problem is. I like to find good deals and can't pay full price for anything. So, I wanted a KitchenAid for Christmas. I just couldn't bring myself to let Jeff get one for me when there were several other things I could get for the price of a KitchenAid. Well, my steal for the year is this KitchenAid I found at a garage sale at a neighborhood across the street.

$10. You read that correctly. I seriously got this for $10!! I was like, "Does it work"? The lady said yes. She just never bakes, that it's been in her garage for a while. I used it the next day to make cookies. It looks and works just like new. Woot!! (woot.com, great website by the way)

Utah

2008-05-19T23:55:00.005-05:00

I was lucky enough to visit with many family and friends while I was in Utah. Unfortunately, no matter how long I am there it is never enough time to see everybody. If I had been better at blogging I could go into more details of the trip. For now pictures and captions will have to do.

My good friend Amy D and I at her house

Katie Graduates with her Masters in accounting! I am on the left, my brother Spencer is on the right.

Another Grad photo with Spencer's family, Katie, myself and my mom and dad

Reese with her cousin Benjamin. I hope he still likes her, they are only a few weeks apart and Reese wouldn't stop attacking him. I guess she is learning from her big sis, Ash.

Reese with her cousin Tanner. I had so many cute photo ops of those two!

We met up with Jeffs sister Jodi and Jeri Anne for Cold Stone. Here is Jodi with her daughter Andi. Obviously, Jeff has Reese.

We were fortunate to be able to visit with Marianne Lloyd for a bit. Here is a pic of two of Rich Lloyds boys. James and Josh. Good buddies of our kids.

We got to stay with the Geddes's for a few days. It helped us to feel right at home. Here is Reese with Kate, Lauryn and Ali

Reese with her future husband Blake Geddes (if we could only choose)

We flew home on the same flight as Brian and Mary Bishop. Jeff couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Sad times

2008-05-19T23:45:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, our good friend Rich Lloyd passed away on Friday, April 25th. We were so sad to hear the news. I had been in Utah visiting and Jeff was on his way so we could make a visit to Rich. We were fortunate enough to be able to extend our trip to attend Rich's funeral. We were so blessed to have known Rich. He is seriously one of the most perfect human beings I knew. I have no question that he is fulfilling a greater calling where he is now. If you have a second to visit his blog, take a minute. He is quite inspiring and reminds Jeff and I daily to "Live Rich".

Working from home... what fun!!!

2008-04-25T14:43:00.006-05:00

I had no intention of writing today, but my daughter made me do it. After working from home the last two days, I've been able to witness firsthand what Bubba deals with on a daily basis. Sure it's been stressful, tough, irritating and demanding, but it's also been fun and entertaining!!! I like it so much... I think I want to quit my job and stay home. I mean, just think of all the blogging opportunities. For example, watch this video of my sweet Ashlyn throwing a temper tantrum.

I love technology. That video was taken on my BlackBerry Curve from Sprint. Did you know Sprint is home of the Simply Everything Plan? Now get unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV(SM), Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect and Group Connect for just $99.99 a month. Sorry, shameless promotion. Anyways, I showed Ashlyn the video, and I think she felt bad. She told me she didn't like it. She was probably embarrassed. Hey, if athletes are using video technology to improve their game, why not use it to improve your child's or even your spouse's behavior? I think it's a great idea. It allows me as a parent to analyze my child's performance and provide tips on what they could do better next time. And, what kid would want a video like that on YouTube? It could work really well with those of you who have teenagers.

Well, I need to go. It's time to get ready to leave for Utah. Ashlyn, was that you? Smells like Cooper. Ashlyn, strike a match next time!

The Mini Show Episode 1

2008-04-24T10:35:00.011-05:00

Don't get too excited, this will be a short entry. Bubba is in Utah this week, so I've had the kids all to myself the past couple of days.... fun, fun!!! Today was suppose to be "Take Your Child To Work Day." However, Sprint decided to cancel it because of complaints from the school district not wanting to take kids out of school. Please... it's elementary school. My kids already know how to pee, use scissors and eat glue. Anyways, I still brought Max and Lexi to work. I'm such a Rebel, aren't I? Not really. For those of you who do not know, I work for Sprint and create training videos. Yes, it's real work!!! I dare any of you to stand in front of a camera for 3 hours with sweltering lights and 3 guys listening and critiquing every word you say. It's tough. Sorry, I needed to get that off my bird chest. Alright, back to Lexi and Max. Long story short, they wanted to make a video, so we did. Lexi decided to do a talk show. She did a pretty good job, but I have to admit she has a big ego and is very difficult to work with. If you don't believe me, take a look at the highlights of the first episode of... "The Mini Show." Alexis, was that you? Smells like Cooper!

Goooooaal... it's a Miracle!!!

2008-04-22T10:40:00.008-05:00

Okay, get off my back everyone, I'm blogging. Man, I take a little sabbatical and you all go crazy and start treating me like Ricky Williams. Maybe I needed to get some substances out of my system before I returned to blogging. Unless you know who Ricky Williams is, you probably wouldn't get that. Well, I guess I just insulted the one person we have left reading our blog. Sorry mom. Call me later and I'll explain. I 'm making it a goal to do better with our blog and post at least once a week. I'm not making any promises, but I'll try. I'd rather do a video blog, but that takes a lot of time. I'm much better at being in front of the camera than writing. My brother Jeremy is a fantastic writer and just started a blog, The Cooper Five. You should check it out. He writes a lot, so you could probably read half of it, take a nap and then finish the rest later. His blog is like a Major League Baseball game. Ask him to post his accounting essay....zzzzzzzzzzzz. Just playing Jer-Bear.

A lot has happened since my last post. I don't have time to write about all of them, but here's a couple...

Spunky little Ashlyn has become our first child to eat soap. For the past month or so, Ashlyn has been saying things to her parents like: stupid, jerk, I hate you, idiot... you get the picture. She's also been doing her best Roberto Alomar impersonation by spitting on her parents and siblings. This child has no fear. I was punished a lot as a kid so I take it pretty easy on my children and usually let Becky perform the beatings. However, when Ashlyn spit in my face for the first time, I was pretty upset. After four years of parenting Ashlyn, I've come to realize you have to be very careful with her. She's smart. She's crafty. She's fearless. Not a lot fazes her and she enjoys playing mind games with us. She's a lot like.... well, a honey badger. Did you know that the honey badger is the "most fearless animal in the world' according to the 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of Records? They do not fear anything! They plunder bee hives, kill snakes, etc. Doesn't this sound like Ashlyn? She has an amazing mind, so coming up with a good punishment was difficult. After wiping the spit off my face, I calmly grabbed some soap from her bathroom and rubbed it over her lips. It took a little while, but then you could see Ashlyn's face sour up. Of course she went crazy and begged for water. It was sort of sad. I now feel bad, and I'm looking for other forms of punishment. If you have any ideas, please post them.

And finally, after two-and-a-half years of playing soccer, Mad Max scored his first goal. It was beautiful. It was spectacular. It was amazing. It was... a miracle. I wanted to cry. I could have walked off the field at the moment and never coached another game and been totally satisfied as a parent. Thank you Max! There's a dispute whether or not he actually scored two. I know he got one for sure, but I thought another kid got the second one. Either way, I'm proud of him. He's come a long way since that first year. For two, long, difficult seasons I would come to Max's soccer games expecting to see two things.... one, his attempts to catch imaginary butterflies, and two, his spiky, gelled hair. Max might not be the most aggressive player on the field but he's definitely the prettiest. All the other kids come to the games with snot running down their nose and bed head, but not Max. Oh no, he's got to come to our soccer games looking like Brad Pitt in glasses. However, that's what I love about Max. He lives in his own little material world. I have to admit though he's starting to catch a little of my competitive spirit especially in baseball. I'll write about that in my next blog. Thanks for reading. It's good to be back. Max, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

They did it!!!

2008-04-08T22:30:00.008-05:00

I know, by now this is old news! What an unbelievable game! Finally, after 20 years! Kansas beat Memphis in overtime to win the championship! We were so lucky to have so many family members and friends over to celebrate.

This is nothing compared with the win, but somehow I managed to win in our bracket tournament. You can see Jeff awarding me with my trophy and autographed ball (Janet Clark, yours is on the way....a year late, Jeff''s fault). The trophy says "2008 Marchania Bracketologist". After picking 10 years of picking Kansas to win, it finally paid off! Wahoo!

I remember back in 1988 when Kansas won their last National Championship. I was only 10 but, I remember them winning and the celebration going on in the room. It reminded me a lot of last night. Lexi came down for the last few minutes. Of course we were all going crazy when Chalmers hit his big 3. After the big win we were just as loud. Lexi was looking at everyone and laughing. Yes, we did let Lexi and Max stay up. I let them sleep in this morning, of course. Lexi was only an hour late to school. There could not have been a sweeter cause. I am still giddy when I think about the Jayhawks big win!

Anyways, this morning Lexi wanted to wear Kansas attire. The only thing I have in her size is a white shirt with pink Kansas lettering. She was like, "But, I want to wear something that has Jayhawk colors". Again, this took me back 20 years ago when I wanted to wear something that had the Jayhawks on it. The only thing I could find was a pair of white boxer shorts with small Jayhawks all over them. I think they were my brothers. I can't believe my mom let me walk out the door wearing mens boxers ( I think it was the style??). These days I would probably be suspended. It is hilarious when I think about it. Needless to say, I went out and got some championship shirts today. I will absorb this win as long as I can! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Rock Chalk!

2008-04-06T14:40:00.009-05:00

I don't know if I've ever been as nervous for a game as I was Saturday night for the Final Four. KU was up against North Carolina. I, along with most Jayhawk fans was ready to show North Carolina we are a better team, and we can win big without Roy Williams. The game was full of mixed emotions. I get butterflies even thinking about it again. Fortunately, we tarred North Carolina. Now can I ask, will you Roy haters please let it go? I know, I know, I felt the same sweet satisfaction that my fellow Jayhawkers did. It was awesome!!

We have one more game to go! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!!!!

You have to check this
KU Rap out.

Becky (I have to specify since Jeff is normally the sports nut)

Live Rich

2008-04-06T14:32:00.016-05:00

We were so lucky to get to be a part of the LIVE RICH fundraiser http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richlloyd on Friday night. Rich is a close friend of ours who developed a GbM. He is an amazing person and has an amazing family and we want to do all we can to help them fight this thing!

I made a KU cake for the bake sale. With the Jayhawks playing in the Final Four the next night, I was hoping to bring in as much money as possible with that. The fundraiser went great!

Lexi's Baptism Weekend

2008-04-06T13:51:00.016-05:00

Alexis got baptized on March 29, 2008. She has anxiously awaited the big day. We were thrilled that Grandma and Grandma Cooper flew in for it!

We knew we were in for a whirlwind 24hrs. We enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Cooper on Friday night. On Saturday morning Alexis was baptized with one of her best friends, Kennedy Kingston. It was so neat to see Lexi baptized by Jeff. Everything was perfect. Lexi and Kennedy sang a sweet musical number after they were baptized. For the closing song we had our kids and the Kingston kids sing "I am a Child of God". It was so tender. We had so many family and friends come for love and support and that meant so much to us!

Following the baptism, we rushed on over the Max's soccer game. He has gotten so much more aggressive this year. He came so close to his first goal!

After the soccer game we wanted to grab a bite to eat to celebrate Lexi's baptism. Grandma loves her BBQ when she comes into town. That's fine with us since we love it too! We took her to Zarda's BBQ. She loves burnt ends and we knew they have great ones (why does this sentence sound so funny?). We had a few minutes to spare before heading to the airport to drop off Grandma and Grandpa, so we took the kids on a double carousel that was at a nearby mall. We all had a great time!
We were then off to the airport. Unfortunately, it's a long drive for the kids. It had been a long day! They all conked out before we even got to the airport. We were grateful that Jeff's parents were able to share Alexis's special day with us.

The next day after church we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Rowe's house to celebrate Lexi's baptism with them. Grandma Rowe made her this very special cake.

It was a wonderful weekend and we are so grateful that Lexi made the decision to be baptized. She is growing up so fast! Wish you all could have been here!

The madness has begun.....

2008-03-20T23:20:00.010-05:00

Can I just say I have really grown to LOVE March Madness. Despite it being during spring break every year. Despite the fact that Lexi's birthday always lands during the games. Despite the fact my husband takes two of his precious vacation days for the first two days of March Madness. Despite kids running around, making messes and trying to yell over the games. Despite the fact that I spend much of my time cleaning up and preparing the food for the day. Despite the fact that we spend more money on our March Madness party than we do for our anniversary, birthdays, valentines....etc, etc. Truly, I am getting into the Madness almost as much as Jeff does (if that is possible).

This morning I got up early, quickly got the girls dressed for the day sporting the cheer leading outfits of the teams we were rooting for. I finished off the shopping list that Jeff made for me, and headed out the door. I gathered everything that we needed for the big games and rushed back home. When I arrive, the kids want food, my husband needs my help putting up the large bracket and we still have a load of groceries in the car. This is just a little sample of what my day was like. Let's just say, it will be like that for the next three weekends! March Madness is too literal around here.

Jeff goes all out. First of all. We get all 4 games at the same time. This is made possible to Directv and their March Madness package which we have to have.
Jeff also gets a bracket blown up to about 32'x48" for one of our basement walls. Everyone who comes to watch the game signs the bracket and a ball.

Our door is open to anybody that is daring enough to come over and endure the madness!! No really, it's not that bad. In fact below are some pics of family and friends who came over today (sorry Matt R. we were charging the camera when you came).

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We really could dedicate an entire blog to Marchania (that's what we call it in our home). Since, I have so much I could write about the games today I will have to narrow it down. I thought it was fun that the three teams we root for: Kansas, UNLV and BYU were playing today (I know you Mountain West Confrencers will not understand how you can like UNLV and BYU). Unfortunately, only Kansas and UNLV won their games. Of all the teams to face off against each other, these two teams will be facing off on Saturday. We will have a divided house. Most of us will be rooting for Kansas. Jeff, who was born and raised in Vegas will always be loyal to his child hood team. He roots for KU his Alma Mater but, will have a hard time doing that against UNLV. The last time I remember them playing in a tournament (a little over 10 years ago) we almost broke up. I remember Kansas beating UNLV and Jeff saying that the officiating was unfair (of course). I had to stick up for my team! I wont go into details but, let's just say it got heated!! A repeat of that night would not be fun, especially with guests!

Well, this is just a glimpse of our Cooper madness. Come see it for yourselves. Our house is always open for every game!! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK.........

Playing catch up....

2008-03-16T19:54:00.014-05:00

I know many of you have given up on us! I told Jeff that when you don't post frequently enough that people stop checking your blog and then it doesn't even matter any more. Well, we are going to try to be more consistent (that's the story of our lives). I wanted to post some pics from Disneyland back in January. We went with Jeff's family for one day and met up with some of our best friends, the Geddes family on the second day.

Our kids with the Geddes kids: Max, Braden, Lauren, Lexi, Ali, Kate, Ashlyn

Cooper and Geddes Girls with Snow White (not to state the obvious)

Coops with Frozone

Ashlyn fell asleep while she and I were waiting for a ride around midnight. We were waiting to get on Alice and Wonderland when it got stuck. We were stuck in a pack of people and couldn't get out of line. I would have held her but, I was holding Reese and Jeff was on another ride with the older kids. Just felt like I had to explain because I felt guilty, though it was funny.

Ashlyn and I riding together. My sis-in-law Aimee was in back.

Jeff and Max in the front. His bro Jeremy and his son Caleb. In the second car was Bryson and Justin.

Waiting in line with the cousins

Ashlyn with her favorite Aunt Annie and Uncle Jutin. Justin puts up with a lot. All of the kids love him and are always climbing all over him.

Needless to say we had a good time. We hope we can do it again in two years! I have lots of great pics that I need to email to the Coopers and Geddes's.

Well, I have a lot more catching up to do. Some recent fun things.

Lexi got her ears pierced.
I turned 30!
We finally got new carpet in our front room, that was my b-day present and I love it!
Gearing up for March Madness (an entire blog should be made to cover this huge ordeal in our house).
Reese had a 9 mos. appointment and they said she is in the 30% . The Dr. and I both think a mistake was made somehow. She is a chunk!
Jeff was moved to another department at Sprint. He will still be doing Multi-Media.
Max started Spring soccer, Jeff is coaching.

So once again, a pledge to be better at blogging. Get ready for Madness.....Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

UPDATED!!!! Streaky Blogger

2008-01-23T12:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm back, but not at full strength though. I've lost a lot of my desire to write. Blogging every other day was tough. It took a toll on me mentally. Being mentally tough has always been a weakness of mine. Even as Boy Scout I felt guilty reciting the last few lines of the Scout Oath, "To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." I'm usually awake... but not mentally. I'm a day dreamer. Just today as I opened up the internet to browse over to my blog, I got lost on the Apple site watching movie trailers. My life could be compared to your typical shooter in basketball. Some days I'm on fire, but other days, I couldn't pee into the ocean. Is there something wrong with me? Is this the mid-life crisis every one's warned me about. I hope not.

Maybe I can blame my lack of mental stability on an accident I had as child. Actually... I could probably point to several, but we'll start with this one. When I was about five years old, I was playing with a skateboard on our driveway. Sidenote... I'm not sure if it was my skateboard, but I highly doubt it because my parents were too cheap to buy me cool toys. My dad is an accountant with an extra large rubber band on his wallet who refused to get his kids anything he didn't have as a child. As for my mom, I don't know if she was part of my dad's master plan to NOT spend money on cool toys from the beginning, or if she was promised lots of exotic trips when the kids left the house. I'm just not sure. I don't have any physical evidence, but by the time I was four, she was definitely on board. Okay, back to the story. The driveway was somewhat steep.
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Well, that's as far as Jeff got. He wrote that early this week and told me he's not ready to post yet. He just needs a little encouragement. I am going to post what he has. The rest is to be continued...........

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Okay, so my mom read the blog and fired back a response. She sounds a little upset:

"Jeffrey, Your dad and I may have been just a little tight, but I don't think you kids suffered in any way!! I think you have all turned out pretty darn good. Wonderful children, now adults, with children of their own. Let's see how well you do!! Love you brown eyed boy!! Oh, and by the way, I do think the skateboard was yours!! Or maybe it was Kyle Brown's. Remember that squirrelly little Brown kid, down the street?? "Head On, rub directly on your forehead" "Head On, rub directly to your forehead" " Head On, rub directly to your forehead" If you haven't seen this obnoxious TV commercial on CNN then you won't understand the humor in it!! You went "head on" into Scottie Mac's truck!!! More power to ya big guy.....love ya mom"

I love my mom. We are very similar. Did you notice how she got distracted and changed subjects in the middle of her email? Mom, you are special. You're so special... I'm going to let you finish the skateboard accident:

"Now we all know the story of the Great Hiawatha, a narrative poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I am sure we are related, since my poems of the grandchildren will be legendary someday also...long, long, way long, after I am gone, anyway, I guess Jeffrey was trying to become legendary in his own mind, by imitating the great Indian warriors who would scalp their enemies in times of war, gloriously blazing through the camp, scalp in hand, yelping, dancing, celebrating over their victory...can't you just picture it?? Maybe a little too "heady" for some of you, oh, sorry, that was such a "hairbrained" comment, at any rate, what a sight! Well, Jiffy Boy had it backwards!! Bravely the little warrior got on his trusty, little, skateboard, belly first, and decided he would go on the war path. Zooming like an arrow down our steep driveway, he could feel the breeze rushing through his hair as he and his trusted skateboard Pronto rode to victory......onward and forward they flew not seeing the immediate danger which lay ahead of our brave, little warrrior. Alas, a parked truck, lay in wait for our little Indian boy, Hia"scoff"a. As our little brave, bravely braced himself, he rode UNDER the truck. The cutting steel of the belly of the truck, grabbed Hia"scoff"a's beautiful, black hair and scalped the little Indian boy, much to his humiliation and horror!! Oh, alas, no war dance tonight mamma!!! In shame he went, not crying, brave little Indian boy, to his beautiful mother, Indian Princess Lovealoveahooeyhop (that's me, if you couldn't tell) to which she brillantly stated, "Gee, I wonder if I should take you to the doctor." You see, the lovely Princess was not at all flustered or panicked, having seen many wars daily with her lively, little Cooper Indian tribe. Gore and blood, as well as trips to the emergency room were pretty common around this camp. Luckily, a good friend, Warrior Scotty Mac, said, "Ah, yeh, I ah, think you better take him". Twelve or maybe it was thirteen, or it could have been more or less stitches latter...it was a LOT, I know that, the little warrior and his beautiful Princess mother headed home, back to the tee-pee to tell the tale 'round the campfire that night. And so you see, a lesson had been learned..."Be a smart Duckee, No more skateboard around the Truckee!!" The End "

Okay, I'm about to wet my pants. That was great mom. She is so creative. Mom, thanks for the poem. Well, I hope you enjoyed the entry. Mom, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

Who's slacking now???

2008-01-14T12:47:00.000-06:00

Jeff!! So, I distinctively remember Jeff telling me when he started the blog that he wanted me to take turns posting every other day. In fact, on one of Jeffs previous posts he states:

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I think Bubba has given up on our blog. She will not write. Maybe she's got a case of blog fright. It happens."

Who's got blog fright now? Maybe it was Disneylands Tower of Terror that still has him scared (I was hoping Jeff would blog about our trip). As I was taking Jeff to work today (because we are down to one car) I asked him when he was going to update our blog. He said he was tired of it and was done blogging!! Can you believe that? I hate to admit that I will be sad if that is true. Even though he makes jokes at my expense, I do find his posts entertaining. Here we go again, back to the polls. I am sorry, I know polls can get annoying (at least ours wont be wrong like the political ones) but, I think we need to get Jeff back into blogging. What do you think? Take the poll to the right.

~Becky

My annoying husband.....and My favorite things

2007-12-20T21:51:00.001-06:00

Okay, so the title might sound harsh but, I awoke early this morning to my husband chanting loudly "Reeebels....Reeebels....Reeebels". Apparently he was looking forward to the evenings big UNLV basketball game.

I will be the first to admit that I am grumpy when I wake up. Mornings, naps, anytime I wake up I am grumpy. (It's a Rowe thing). The thing is, I didn't even have to wake up as early this morning because my kids are all ready out for Christmas vacation. I was selfishly looking forward to an extra half hour of shut-eye. This kind of thing is not uncommon for Jeff. He is such a morning person and I am the complete opposite. He has woken me up at like 5am before just to talk. Some may think this is sweet but, I am sorry, I have a hard time even thinking that early. So, Jeff is chanting his "Runnin Rebels" chant so loudly that it wakes all 4 kids up. They all begin to pile into our bed. Jeff decides it's a good time to talk to our kids about their different birth stories. I am still trying to ignore and maybe get a minute more of sleep. So, he purposely asks questions like, "What pregnancy would you say was your hardest pregnancy?", "Which was the most painful pregnancy?", "What child was easiest to give birth to?". I mean, who asks these kind of questions first thing in the morning? Jeff is well meaning. Just like a child who has more energy than they know what to do with.

...On to my favorite things. I was tagged to post "My favorite things" from my friend Linds. Here goes.

1. My 5 kids (4 not including Jeff)
2. Email
3. Saturdays, as long as I don't have a chocolate fountain
4. The Readers Digest
5. Ice Cream
6. Clearance sections
7. Craigslist
8. Snow days
9. Hanging out with family and friends
10. The smell of Fall
11. Shoes
12. The Plaza lights

13. The service that I constantly see people give
14. Laughter - yes, this is a good thing being married to Jeff
15. KU Basketball
16. 24
17. Fox News
18. Out in the Barn and The Cottage Door - fabulous, unique home decor
19. Games, I love to play games and watch game shows
20. Christmas- This is the best time of year!

What are some of your favorite things?

----Becky

Bubba needs your help!!!

2007-12-17T09:59:00.001-06:00

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I think Bubba has given up on our blog. She will not write. Maybe she's got a case of blog fright. It happens. Remember when Donny Osmond battled through a severe case of stage fright? Seriously, I'm not joking. I saw it on E! True Hollywood Story. Now, this is just one man's opinion, but I think Donny was going through puberty and couldn't hit his high notes in Puppy Love. Okay, you've got to watch this. I about wet my pants watching it. Clean up in aisle five.

Speaking of the Osmonds...did anyone see Marie collapse on Dancing with the Stars? I know this is old, but it's funny.

That was great. The Osmonds are a train wreck. Marie is the Mormon version of Britney Spears.

Anyways, back to Bubba. Perhaps she doesn't want to write because she'll be turning 30 in a couple of months...mid-life crisis. Or maybe...she's pregnant. She was snoring last night. That's one of her pregnant signs. All women have them. Bubba snores when she's pregnant. No kidding. If Bubba is pregnant...remember who broke the story first. Oh, she's going to be mad. So, I'm begging everyone to send comments to our blog and give Bubba words of encouragement. Tell her she's a good writer. Tell her that her new hair cut looks nice. Tell her having 5 children isn't difficult.

Let me conclude what perhaps might be my final blog with these delightful pictures from our Church Christmas Party the other night. Click on the link below to take a look. Most people know to click on a link, but those directions are mainly for my mom. I love my mom. She's a great woman, but she struggles with cooking and computers. It must be a C thing. However, I doubt my mom has moved past the previous paragraph because she's probably calling everyone with news that Bubba is pregnant. Mom, it was a joke. She's not pregnant. At least I don't think she is, but Bubba was snoring last night. Bubba, was that you? Smells and snores like Cooper!

***Church Christmas Party Pictures***

UpdatedChristmas at the Coopers!

2007-12-13T11:27:00.000-06:00

Update to our blog. I've added a video clip of the kid's bloopers from our Christmas at the Coopers video shoot. I've posted it beneath the original video. I've also started Coop's Sports Scoop. It's a blog dedicated solely to sports! Read it and you'll find out why I started Coop's Sports Scoop. I hate the Spurs.
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Well, I'm sorry it has taken so long to write again. It's actually Bubba's turn, but she's been busy. I have her on a tighter leash. A lot of our time the past couple of days has been spent indoors. We had an ice storm on Tuesday, and like always, it was way overblown by the weather geeks...err...meteorologists. How do they keep their jobs? How many of us would still be employed if we made as many mistakes as those goof balls? So school was canceled, and I worked from home on Tuesday. We had a lot of fun. We made a video for my show. For those of you who do not know, I host a weekly training video called To the Point (2TP) for Sprint Customer Care Centers. It's not your typical training video. It's more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live or talk show. Each week my production staff and I try to create a short, catchy, cheesy video to open up the show. It can be a lot of fun. My producer had the idea that a quick video clip of Christmas at the Coopers could be somewhat entertaining. So the kids and I did it. Remember, it's cheesy, and Bubba did not want to be in the video because her hair was not done. I thought the main reason she whacked her hair was so it would be easier to do. I still don't get it. Anyways, on with the show!

See, pretty cheesy huh? Max wins an Oscar for over actor of the year. And yes, I get paid to do that. No one ever said you couldn't have fun at work. Don't blame me for your career choice. And besides, I'm sure you all make a lot more money than me.

A couple of things before I close. As I was driving to work this morning listening to the radio, I heard this dreadful remake of We Three Kings by a group called Eclipse out of Utah. It was just horrible. I mean, they had someone Beatboxing to it. I'm sure as the Wisemen were journeying to visit the Baby Jesus they were Beatboxing all the way. Leave Christmas songs alone. Is there some sort of requirement in the music industry that you have to make a Christmas album? Seriously, who wants to listen to Garth Brooks sing Silver Bells, or White Christmas, or heaven forbid, O Little Town of Bethlehem? I'm sure he found some way to insert alcohol, trucks and his dog into the songs. I think the only thing worse than listening to Garth sing Christmas songs would be Britney Spears singing them. Could you imagine Britney singing Joy to the World? That would be just magical listening to the Queen of love and joy spreading Christmas cheer! You know I actually have an album. If you want one for Christmas, just let me know. Here's a sample:

And finally, let's finish with a couple of sports notes. Ron Mexico finally received his sentence for mistreatment of dogs. Lawyer friends, is that the legal term for what he did? Please correct me if I'm wrong. It appears that for the next couple of years Mr. Vick won't be passing the football...or herpes for that matter. I really have a problem with what Mike did. I mean, why in the world would he torture dogs when he could have used cats? Rid the world of cats. There are two things my father in-law and I have in common. One, our love for Rowe (Bubba's maiden name) women, and two, our hatred for cats. I would love to share more about this, but I'll need to save the cat stories for another blog. This entry is already too long.

And, I can't wait to hear George Mitchell's report on baseball's drug culture. He's supposedly going to name Major League Baseball players who have used steroids. At this point, wouldn't it be easier to name players who haven't used steroids? Jeff, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

Do you like it thick or thin?

2007-12-09T12:33:00.000-06:00

We're going to try something new in our blog. Both Bubba and I are going to post together. This could be dangerous. We're going to give you a taste of one of our animated conversations right here in our blog. It's not a disagreement or argument. It's more like a debate, and you guys get to be the audience. We thought it would be fun to do something different. We'll see how it goes. Let us know what you think by posting a comment below our entry.

Jeff: Let me begin by giving you a. . .What? We're already having a difference of opinions. I think when I write, it should go Jeff then semicolon. Bubba thinks it should be Jeff then dash. I don't know, and I don't care. You do it your way, and I'll do it my way.

Bubba: Okay, I agree. When I looked over I thought you had put a period. I don't have my glasses on.

Jeff: Speaking of glasses. . .they look real nice with your new hair style. Okay, let's get back to our original topic. Here we go. Hopefully you've all read my previous post, "Playing Mr. Mom and Remembering mine." If not, this is all you need to know. I worked from home the other day and watched the kids while Bubba was out. I must brag about myself for a second. I not only got all my REAL work done but cleaned the house, vacuumed, did the dishes and ordered pizza for dinner. I thought Bubba would be so proud of me. I was actually excited for her to come home. I thought she would be surprised and happy.

Side note. . .Let me explain something about my wife. I could probably do 50 things right, but if that 51st thing is wrong, forget about the first 50 because I'm getting it. End of Side note. . .

So Bubba picks up the pizza on her way home, comes inside, places the pizza on the table and opens the boxes. I thought for sure I was going to see a sweet smile on her face, but oh no. Forget about the clean house, dishes and dinner. This is what happens. I kid you not. Bubba stomps her foot and whines, "You got thin crust on both pizzas!!!" Well, I love you too. Can you believe that? I was crushed.

Becky: Yes, I did stomp my foot, but let me give you my side of the story. After working a crazy, long , hectic day doing 3 chocolate fountains I was starving. I talked to Jeff and he suggested pizza which sounded great! I was craving a pizza place called Godfathers which has awesome pizza. Their pizza crust is particularly good. It's a bit more expensive but, I haven't had it in about a year so I decided it would be worth it. So, I pick the pizza up and can smell it the entire drive home. I was starving! I walk in to an amazingly clean home and said, "Wow, the house looks really nice". I sat the pizza down and opened the lid (because the box felt rather light), I was so annoyed when I saw both pizzas had thin crust. At that moment, I remembered that Jeff had called me right in the middle of my busy chocolate fountain event to tell me something important. He informed me that thin crust pizza had 9 carbs less per slice than regular crust pizza. If you didn't know.....Jeff has weight and eating issues. Even though he looks good he is always paranoid about his carbs. So, I guess he took it upon himself to do our whole family a favor by ordering low carb pizza. I think that also explains why we all ate twice as many slices as we normally do. So, the benefit of thin crust??? I don't get it!

Jeff: See, it worked. Our kids actually ate their dinner. Chalk up another one to me. Now, you claimed to have said , "Wow, the house looks really nice." Did you say that out loud, or were you thinking that? Is this another instance where a husband is supposed to read his wife's mind. I haven't quite mastered that yet. Regarding the pizza, I did a little research online and was trying to help our family eat more healthful. We don't need all those unnecessary carbs. I'm worried about our bodies. As the old saying goes. . .the more crust, the bigger the bust.

Becky: By the way, Jeff was on the phone when I complimented my family on the house. I also learned that it was my sweet Lexi and wonderful mom who cleaned the kitchen for me. However, Jeff also did a lot of the other cleaning. I just wanted to give credit where it's due.

Jeff: I'm sorry, what was that? I was drinking my Crystal Light. Sing it with me, "I believe in Crystal Light because I believe in me!" I loved those 80's Crystal Light commercials with Raquel Welch. Anyways. . . so let us know how you like your pizza, thick or thin. Vote in our poll to the right, and send us your comment. Reese, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

Playing Mr. Mom and Remembering Mine

2007-12-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

Today is my big day to shine. I'm home alone with the kids. I'm in charge. I feel all grown up. Actually, I'm working from home today and Bubba is not here. I think she's testing me after my two previous posts. I promise I'll have pizza ordered and ready to go by 4:45 when she gets home. Okay, I promised not to make any more comments about our dinners, but I just couldn't resist. When I'm home alone with the kids, we eat the very finest. I know how to organize two meals --corn dogs and pizza. For lunch, I'm microwaving corn dogs, and for dinner, we'll probably order pizza. Hey, it's healthy. I grew up on frozen corn dogs, cold cereal and pizza. And look at me, I turned out okay.

I love my mom. She's a sweet spirit. She does a lot of things well. One them is not cooking. I compare my mother's meals to the meals made by the mom in "Better off Dead." I love that movie. . . probably the best comedy from the 80's. Remember the green glob with raisins that crawls off Lane's plate. That was great. They don't make movies like that anymore. My mom's cooking is very similar. I remember having a friend over for lunch one Sunday afternoon. I didn't have a lot friends growing up, so this was a big moment for me. I guess my mom had been inspired at church that day because she decided to experiment with lunch. Bad idea. She made spaghetti, which would have been fine if she would have just left it at that. But, she decided to get creative and add little hot dogs to the spaghetti. It was embarrassing. My mom has issues with spaghetti. I don't think she's quite got over the first spaghetti meal she made for my dad. I wasn't alive then, but my dad says it gave him a case of diarrhea. We'll stop right there.

It's snowing in Kansas!!! I love it. . .for about 2 hours. I grew up in Las Vegas. I could live without snow, ice and wind. The kids seem to enjoy it, so that's good because it keeps them busy. Max and his buddy James are outside playing in the snow. Max and James. . . two of the most interesting boys I know. Just take a look at this picture from a basketball game we went to a couple of weeks ago. Should I be worried?

Well, need to run. Ashlyn is begging for lunch. Stop crying Ashlyn! Lunch is coming! Now I know how Bubba feels when I get home from work. Ashlyn, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

So much to do......so little time

2007-12-05T14:49:00.000-06:00

It's days like today, where I am feeling stressed with everything on my plate, that the last thing I need to be doing is blogging. It has been a busy week, and will remain a busy month, up to the point we get on an airplane to go to Vegas for Christmas. My days are filled with cleaning, doctors appointments, lessons, COOKING, laundry, errands, kids school stuff and so forth. You know, the usual. On top of that, this month I have several chocolate fountains and of course the Christmas shopping (which is not close to being done). I know this is the same for most people. I so admire the many people that I see that can get it all done. Everything in order, organized, clean and dinner done when it needs to be. Maybe, one day I will actually be able to get everything done on my (Jeffs) list. Gotta go.......time to pick up the kids!---Becky

Setting the record straight. . .

2007-12-03T17:17:00.000-06:00

In my blog tonight, I would like to respond to a couple of entries my sweet Bubba posted. Let's begin with the dinner debate. . .When should it be done? For some background on this subject, please read my post, "Man, I'm in trouble." This has been an interesting topic around MY. . . err, sorry Bubba, OUR house and work the past couple days. Let me answer this question with an example.

Tonight Bubba is tending a chocolate fountain for a party. For those of you who do not know, Bubba runs a small chocolate fountain business, Chocolate Occasion. We have the best chocolate in town. Try it. Make your special occasion a chocolate one. . .Chocolate Occasion. Sorry, shameless promotion.

Okay, back to my original story. So, my loving mother in-law has been watching the kids for a couple of hours while Bubba has been tending the fountain, and I arrive home from work at my normal time to pick up our children. And guess what? That's right. . . Dinner is ready! My mother in-law has made homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls. Wow, what a woman!!! These older ladies know how to treat their men. No wonder my father in-law is always happy. My guess is he will live a much longer life than me. See why I liked living with the in-laws. Enough said or typed on that topic. I think I've made my point.

My second and last point has to do with Bubba's short hair. Yes, I was shocked when I came home from work to find Bubba's beautiful hair missing. The only other time I have been that shocked was when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive. I held my composure much better this time. After hearing the tragic news about Magic, I threw a brick at my backboard. No, I wasn't shooting hoops. I actually took a stone brick and tossed it towards the basket. Luckily, I missed. Over the past couple of days, I have grown to like Bubba's short hair. Maybe it was the way the stylist had styled her hair. Seriously, sometimes these barbers and stylists do the goofiest things with our hair. I guess they figure they'll experiment on our hair first, so if it looks really bad they won't try it on their own hair.

Let me just make this final comment on short hair and long hair. Some women look very nice with short hair. For example, look at Hillary Clinton. She looks like the man she's always wanted to be. Okay seriously. . .Halle Berry, Jenny McCarthy, Mandy Moore, Keira Knightley and now my sweet Bubba all look very attractive with short hair. Now let's reverse the roles. Some men don't look good with long hair. Bubba tells me when my hair gets too long, I look chubby.

I promise this is our final post on dinner and hair. This post was heavily edited by Bubba. If you would like a copy of my original entry, feel free to post a comment or email me. Max, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

It's just hair!

2007-12-01T23:52:00.000-06:00

So, I got my hair cut. I was ready for a change. After losing handfuls of hair due to post hormonal pregnancy, I finally decided to do it. I took Ashlyn along with me because we're still trying to even out her hair after the hair cut she gave herself almost a year ago. I was a little uncertain about my hair when I left the salon because of some of the comments Ashlyn was making. "Mom, you look like a boy......you look like daddy." Well, isn't that great! Every wife wants to be told they look like their husband. Of course, Amy who cuts my hair, loved it. Rachel Kingston, who watched Reese, liked it. So, it was on to home to see what the rest of the clan thought. When I picked up Lexi and Max from school, Lexi helped me gain some confidence by telling me she liked my hair. Max didn't say anything, so I took that as a positive vote. At home, during after-school snacks, Reese was fussing and I was trying to calm her down. My sweet little Ashlyn chimes in, "I think she's crying because she doesn't like your hair". Leave it to Ashlyn to give baby Reese's vote. So, I am at 2-2. Jeff is the tie-breaker. I anxiously waited for him to get home to see what he thought. Now, let me first tell you that Jeff does not like short hair. I was hoping that I could change his mind. He walks in shortly after we've finished our after-school snacks. "You cut it short!" (Strike 1). "Why didn't you tell me you were going to cut it short, I would have tried to talk you out of it". (Strike 2). "You know how you felt when Ashlyn cut her hair short? That's how I feel right now." (Strike 3). So, I guess I lost the game this time 3-2. It's only hair, it will grow back. But, I think I like it.......I may try to win this game one more time.----Becky

What's your vote? Check out the pictures to the right. Girls pic is before. Family pic is after. Take the poll.

Yep, you are in trouble!

2007-11-30T09:35:00.000-06:00

What Jeff failed to mention, is that he asked why dinner was not ready at 4:45pm!!! And....I prefer to be called Becky-Beck.

Man, I'm in trouble!!!

2007-11-29T19:30:00.001-06:00

I want to apologize for not writing yesterday. Something came up. Okay, actually...I got in trouble. It seems like I'm always in the doghouse. I mean, I was ready to post. I had a list of topics I wanted to cover. I was ready to write about Christmas songs and the current state of basketball. However, I lost the desire after my somewhat animated conversation with Bubba. Before I tell you the story, I'm pleading innocent, and I want you to know I'm the victim here. This is how it all went down. I came home from work hungrier than a newborn baby. I was ready to eat. So, I asked Bubba if dinner was done. I knew it wasn't. I saw that the timer had 26 minutes left. I thought the comment was harmless, right? I was just teasing. Bubba didn't see it that way. She was hot...much hotter than our meal. I mean, I might have made another comment that went something like this, "Well, it would have been nice if dinner would have been done when I got home." I'll never admit to being the smartest man. You could probably compare me to the Crocodile Hunter. I'm not afraid to play with dangerous animals. I would say Bubba is like a KOALA bear...cute and cuddly on the outside, but ready to attack at any moment. Maybe I should stop right here and let you imagine how the rest of our conversation went last night. It was an entertaining night at the Coopers. I love Bubba! Okay, I'm sick. I just ate a large frosty. I promise my next entry will be better. I'll have plenty of takes. Alexis, was that you? Smells like cooper.

Kids, kids & more kids

2007-11-27T17:55:00.000-06:00

Cohen Cooper Anderson

Congratulations to Jeffs sister Jodi and our brother-in-law Ryan for bringing a new baby boy into the family today!!

Well, Jeff has decided that we need to take turns updating the blog. He says daily........HA, we will see about that. So, my day was filled with kids. Mine and others. I had the privilege of watching several different kids throughout the day. To tell you the truth, I look forward to watching other kids play here. As the kids have gotten older, it is really more of a help than a hinder. They just run off and play. Today, as I watched a little boy named Derek, it brought back fond memories when he came running in with a Barbie doll (Sorry, Mat but, I promise he wasn't playing with it). I had to laugh to his mom Lindsay telling her what my mom used to do with our Barbie dolls when we were growing up. I think like any mom, my mother started to get concerned as her boys were getting older seeing these naked Barbies lying around. She decided she would paint underwear and bras on all of our Barbies. Unfortunately, this made word around my schoolmates. I had boys teasing me that my mom painted underwear on my Barbies. I hate to admit that I denied it up and down. Now, it is my turn to decide what to do to cover up our Barbies. It's not enough to just ask my daughters to keep them dressed! Well, I better run. Lexi has to finish reading 30 more pages by the end of the night for a book report. Unfortunately, she is following my procrastination ways. ----Becky

Coop's Scoop is ON!!!

2007-11-26T18:39:00.000-06:00

Okay, here goes draft #3. I have a bad feeling about this. I hate writing. So why in the world am I doing a blog? I don't know. I guess it's because I just lectured my children on the importance of keeping a journal or diary. That was a mistake. My wife is really excited about doing this blogging thing, and now she's lecturing ME on how to make a blog. She's a backseat blogger. I'm regretting the lecture...mine and hers. I wonder if my father ever felt that way after the hundreds of lectures he gave me as a kid. Oh wait, he still gives them to me. I thought maybe they would stop after I left the house. I'm 32 now with one wife and 4 interesting kids, but the lectures never stop. Big Jeff(Dad), Kenna(Mom) and my sweet wife of almost 10 years, Bubba (wife), all give them to me. I'm stuck in a circle of lectures.

As I'm writing this blog, I'm reminded of my first day of kindergarten. It was horrible!!! Kenna made me wear a vomit brown button up shirt and nasty dress pants, also brown. Our first house was brown. My only friend in Kindergarten had the last name of Brown, Jeffrey Brown. Brown is one of the ugliest colors alive. Can colors be alive? I don't know. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that from the beginning my parents wanted me to be a nerd. Maybe they thought it would make me a better student. Nice try. Didn't work. My other reason for bringing up my first day of school is that this first blog is just like that day, horrible. Did I mention I hate writing? If you're looking for a grammatically correct blog, go to my brother's or sister's blog. He's a lawyer, and she received a degree in English.

I guess I'm required to talk about my family in my blog. I think I read it somewhere in the blog agreement when I signed up. What? You don't read those exciting license agreements that some overpaid lawyer dictated to his secretary? Lawyers are great. More on them in future blogs. Back to my family. I'm married to Bubba. We have 4 unusual children. Alexis is 7 and reading a 100 page book right now that's supposed to be done by tomorrow. She's on page 10. I love kids. Procrastination runs in the family. So does constipation and irritation. Max is my only boy. He's 6. He loves the piano and wearing costumes. Not a good sign. I think Liberace started out that way too. Here's a link to him playing the piano:

Ashlyn is our 3 year old. She looks like my wife but acts exactly like me. She spends a lot of time in her room. She's just misunderstood. Our youngest child is Reese. She's 6 months. Bubba just made her cry. Reese is going to be one tough kid. She takes a lot of abuse from the 3 older kids and I guess my wife. Bubba said she was just trying to make her smile. By making a scary face? Right.

Okay, need to go. The girls are fighting over barbie.com and my 0-10 Dolphins are about ready to play on Monday Night Football. I'm excited to watch former BYU QB John Beck. I'm a huge BYU football fan. Remember when Monday Night Football used to be MUST SEE TV. Man, times have changed. Bubba, was that you? Smells like Cooper.

Coop's Scoop

Hard Mac

Kids First Day of School

Pay it Forward

Max's blog post

Max on the piano...

Baby Steps.............

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

Ashlyn's Outfit of the Day!

Las Vegas Thanksgiving

It's Autumn time...

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...playoff action

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...it's playoff time

MaxPreps.com HS football video

Tooth Fairy Crush

Week 9 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com

Week 8 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

Week 7 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

I'm Jeff Cooper.....

Week 6 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com and shamless promotion of my kids...

Week 5 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

Week 4 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

Catching up on laundry....again

Week 3 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

Week 2 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

For MaxPreps.com...I'm Jeff Cooper. Jiffy Boy covers his first football game!

MISS.ISS.IPP.I

Blogging is like laundry........

Happy Birthday Reese!

Piano Recital

Turkey Creek Fesitval

Deals

Utah

Sad times

Working from home... what fun!!!

The Mini Show Episode 1

Goooooaal... it's a Miracle!!!

They did it!!!

Rock Chalk!

Live Rich

Lexi's Baptism Weekend

The madness has begun.....

Playing catch up....

UPDATED!!!! Streaky Blogger

Who's slacking now???

My annoying husband.....and My favorite things

Bubba needs your help!!!

***Updated***Christmas at the Coopers!

Do you like it thick or thin?

Playing Mr. Mom and Remembering Mine

So much to do......so little time

Setting the record straight. . .

It's just hair!

Yep, you are in trouble!

Man, I'm in trouble!!!

Kids, kids & more kids

Coop's Scoop is ON!!!

UpdatedChristmas at the Coopers!